So far this summer, the Chicago Bulls have been involved in only two significant transactions this summer. First, there was a trade that sent point guard Lonzo Ball within the Central Division to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With the Bulls added Isaac Okoro from that deal, their next and only other major move saw the team re-sign backup point guard Tre Jones. That pretty much completes their activity thus far this summer.
For a team that has been stuck in the Play-In for the past three years, fans may have expected more from the Chicago Bulls organization. With salary restrictions and tight cap space, there isn't much else they can do yet.
Meanwhile, big names have moved teams via signings and trades like Kevin Durant, Myles Turner, as well as former Celtics champions Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Unfortunately, none of those players came to the Windy City.
Chicago doesn't have the extra money to spend right now. According to HoopsHype.com, the Bulls have approximately $153,094,464 tied up in salaries for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season. Despite the salary cap increasing by nearly 10% this summer, that leaves Chicago with about $1.5 million to work with.
With big names on Chicago's books this season, such as Nikola Vucevic ($21.5 million), Zach Collins, and Patrick Williams (both at $18 million), the Bulls have little to no wiggle room to add more pieces. Upgrades could only be made by trading Lonzo Ball for a defender on the wing and re-signing a guard to help fill that void.
All of this is relative to the now. The future is much different. Going over the salary cap this summer doesn't make sense.
Bulls May Have Serious Cap Space Next Offseason
Not only do Vucevic and Collins become free agents after this season, but Kevin Huerter is also in the last year of his current deal. The 3-point shooter will make just under $18 million in base salary during the 2025-26 NBA season.
That's roughly a combined $75.5 million that would open up should all of them leave in free agency. That's also between 45-50% of the Bulls' salary cap using this season's figures. That's a lot of money... for next summer.
Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are also scheduled to be free agents after this season. White is on the books for $12.8 million this year, and Dosunmu for slightly over $7.5 million. That's around $95 million in space, which is at 60% or more of open cap space next summer (without factoring in another potential increase).
Some of this will evaporate once the Bulls inevitably re-sign Josh Giddey to a new contract, but that is still significant cap space.
Aside from the Bulls' own free agents, other teams have some intriguing names like Dyson Daniels or Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, who are slated to be free agents next summer. The Dallas Mavericks have a center potentially available in Daniel Gafford, should the Bulls let Vucevic go.
Other young and exciting players like Christian Braun (Denver Nuggets), Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons), and Mikal Bridges (New York Knicks) could be available in the summer of 2026, too.
While free agency has been quiet, it's okay that the Bulls aren't wheeling and dealing this summer. But as of now, they will have no choice but to be active next summer in order to fill out their roster.